A 27-year-old man has been accused of animal cruelty after authorities said he set his mother's dog on fire early this month in north Harris County.

Jacob Davis is charged with felony-animal cruelty after the dog was found dead July 13 in a sewer at Ella Crossing and Burnell Oaks, the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office announced Thursday morning. Davis was arrested Tuesday.

A necropsy performed on the dog by the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory revealed the canine had been stabbed several times and set on fire.

Authorities discovered the dog after a passerby saw smoke coming from the sewer and called 911, said Lt. Dean Hensley with the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office. When firefighters arrived, they pulled off the manhole cover and saw the dead dog.

The spot where the dog was found was in the neighborhood where Davis lived with his mother.

Hensley said it appeared Davis had been angry about something and attacked the 19-pound American Pit Bull terrier mix, but it as unclear if he was mad at his mother or the animal,

"I guess he took it out on the dog," Hensley said.

Hensley said cases of people setting animals on fire are uncommon. He said his office investigates more cases of people being set on fire than animals being set on fire.

The Harris County Fire Marshal's Office, the Houston SPCA and the Harris County District Attorney's Office investigated the case